Dry-hole plug for wells.



L. E. ROBINSON.

DRY HOLE PLUG FOR WELLS.

. APPLIOATION FILED A121119, 1913.

L; Wk l.

2 SHEETS-S HEBT l.

Patented A141127, 19ML wneooao L. E. ROBINSON.

DRY HOLE PLUG FOR WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED 11113.19, 1913.

1,092,54@ Patented Apr. 7, 19ML 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LAWRENCE E. ROBINSON, F COIFFEY'VILLE, KANSAS.

DRY-HOLE PLUG FOR WELLS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led April 19, 1913.

Patented Apr. f7, 1914. Serial No. 762,295.

f To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE E. ROBIN- soN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Coffeyville, in the county of Montgomery and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dry-Hole Plugs for Wells, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in dry hole plugs for oil wells; the object being to 4provide av plug which is formed of a plurality of sections connected together in such a manner that when pressure is brought to bear from above the sections will be moved in respect to each other in orderto increase the diameter of the plug so as to completely lill the well at the point desired.

Another object of theinvention is to provide a plug which is preferablyformed of four tapering staves; two of said staves being connected to a base pin and two to a top pin, which is carried by the stem of the `well drilling tool in such a manner that when the bottom of the well is reached, the weight of the stem will move the staves in respect to eachother so as to cause the staves to travel upon the inclined faces in order to expand and completely fill the well.

Another objectpof the invention` is to provide the base plug with a packing which is adapted to be expanded by the staves as clearly shown in Figure 2, whereby an exceedingly water-tight joint will be formed in the well in order to prevent any water from rising.

Another and further object of the invention is to provide a plug which is exceedl ingly simple and cheap in construction; the

staves being carried by wooden pins and connected thereto by nailsiin such a manner that when pressure is brought to bear upon the upperv pin, the nails connecting the staves to the pins will be forced out of the pins in order to allow the staves to move in respect to each otherso as to expand or,

increase the diameter of the plug.

Another and still further object of the in- I vention is to provide a plug which is espe cially adapted to be used for plugging thej well at a point where a water stratum is struck in drilling the well, and it is desired to fill up the well to the gas or oil paying stratum, and I have found that by such a construction of plug, that when set, Vthe mo1st-ure will expand the staves so as to wedge the same firmly in position and in connection with the expansible packing, a

corplplete stopper will be formed for the we Other and further objects and advantages of. the invention will be hereinafter set v forth and the novel features thereof defined "Fig 2, is a side elevation ofthe plug showing the same expanded 'to the Well; Fig. 3, 1s -a section taken on t-he line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, is a perspective showing the construction of the staves forming the body of the plug. Fig. 5, is a perspective view of my improved dry hole plug showing the manner of lowering the plug inthe well with a well drilling tool; Fig. 6, is a side elevation of the plug showin my improved construction of lock arrangel in position in connection therewith; Fig. 7, is a side elevation of the frangible4 lock detached; and Fig. 8, is a vertical section through the frangible lock showing the same in position upon the expanding cone.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In carrying out my improved invention, I employ `a wooden plug which is formed of a plurality of staves 1 herein shown four in number; which are tapered as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and arranged in pairs; one pair having its narrowest ends arranged reverse to the other pair as clearly shown in Figa. The side edges of these staves are beveled so as to snugly fit one another and form a complete cylinder, and it will be seen that by shifting or moving one pair of staves longitudinally in respect to the other, the diameter of the cylinder formed by thc staves will be increased so as to expand the plug within the well, as will be later described.

One pair of the staves are carried by a base'plug 2 and secured thereto by nails or fastening members 3, and the other pair of staves are connected to atop pin 4t by nails or fastening means 5; the lower ends of this pair of staves also being secured to the pin 2 by nails or fastenings as shown at G, The pins 2 and 4 are provided with heads 7 and 8 and in Fig. 1, I have shown the staves connected to the pins 2 and 4 in position to be lowered into the well, and it `will be seen that by forcing the pins 2 and 4 toward each other, the fastenings for holding the staves in the position shown, will'be forced out of position and the inclined faces of the plugs will travel one upon the other so as to increase the diameter of the plug.

In order to form an exceedingly tight joint at the lower end of the plug, I provide the pin 2 with an expansible packing 9 which is preferably putty wrapped with tape in order to hold the same in position thereon which is adapted to be engaged by the staves when forced into position as shown in Fig. 2, so as to force the packing 9 outwardly around the end of the staves. By forming the staves wedge-shape or tapering and by arranging the staves alternately in the form of a circle, the inclined faces ofthe abutting staves will ride upon one another when'forced longitudinally in order 'to increasethe diameter of the circle so as to expan'd the staves tightly within the casing of the well. 1

In order to provide means for lowering and setting the plug within the well casing, I provide the head 8 of the pin 4 Wlth a tapering stem 10 which is adapted to be forced into the threaded socket 11 of the stem 12 of the lwell drilling tool, which is preferably `about forty feet in length, and is carried by a cable 13; and it will be seen that in forcing the stem into the threaded socket 11 it will cut its own thread in the stem in such a manner as to hold the same firmly in position when being lowered in the well, and by the weight of the stem of the well drilling tool against the head 8, the

staves carried lby the pin 4 will be forced.

downwardly over the pin 2 until the head 8 engages the other pair of staves, when the- #base pin so 'as to allow the same to move longitudinally in respect to each other, whereby they will be expanded or in.other words, the diameter of the plug will be increased as the staves move longitudinally inl respect tov each other so as to expand the plug tightly against the Well casing and by the moisture, the staves which are formed of in some'cases, the upper pin will be drawn out with the stem of the well drilling tool, but I have found that it is not essential for the upper pin to remain in position within the staves and therefore, the operation of the plug is not affected bythe pinv 4. The complete plug is formed of wood including the pins, and is subjected to the swelling action of waterso as to wedge the same firmly in cast-iron member 15 which is preferably formed cylindrical in shape having its lower portion divided into segments 1G which are connected atv their upper ends by a frangible cap 17 said segments being provided with tapering inner faces 18 forming a conical opening to receive the conical member 14.

-The outer faces of the segments 16 are ser-- rated to form teeth so arranged that when the cap 17 is broken in order to allow the segments to be expanded by the expanding member 14, they will be forced outwardly and embed themselves in the side of the well or the casing as the case lmay be, and securely lock the plug from moving upwardly,

In setting the lock, the same is dropped into the well after the plug has been set and by the impact of the member 14 striking the stem 10 the segments will be slightly spread, and in some instances the frangible cap will be broken. lVhen the locking device -is in this positionupon the plug, a well drilling tool is dropped down into the well so that the impact against the cap will cause the same to break allowing the segments 16 to expand by riding upon the inclined faces of the expanding member and by delivering a number of blows upon the cap with the wel'l drilling tool, the serrated faces will be embedded in the side of the Well or casing as clearly lshown in Fig. 6, thereby making it impossible' for the expansible plug to be moved upwardly by pressure of the sand or water. y IVhile I have yshown and described a locking .device to be used in connection with the plug, it is of course understood that the plug can be used without the locking device but by combining the two as shown, an exceedingly practical means is provided for maintaining the plug inl a set position.

From the foregoing description, it will be .seen that I have provided a plug formed of when moved in respect to each other, the diameter of the plug willbe increased so as to expand the plug into the casing to coinpletely close the same.

I claim: y

- 1. A plug for oil Wells comprising a body formed of a plurality of tapering staves having contacting side edges.

2. A plug for oil wells comprising a body formed of a plurality of tapering staves arranged in pairs having contacting side edges, and, means for moving said staves longitudinally in respectto each other. y

3. An eXpansible, cylindrical plugforwoil Wells, formed of a plurality -of tapering staves having contacting side edges slidably mounted in respect to each other. 4f. A plug for oil wells comprising a bod)r formed of a plurality of tapering-staves, headed pins detachably carried by said staves, and means for forcing said pins together for expanding said staves.

5. A plug for oil ,wells comprising abot'- tom pin and a top pin, staves :connected to said pins, and a packing carried b the bottom pin adapted to be expande by'said staves.

6. A plug for wells comprising a headed pin having a' plurality of -ppositely arranged tapering staves temporarily Connected thereto and arranged in pairs, andl means carried by one pair of staves for moving said staves longitudinally in respect to each other. 7. The combination With a pin provided with a stem, of tapering staves carried by said plin, a second pin carried by said staves and connected to the staves, said second pin having an expansible packing adapted to Vbe engaged by said staves.

8. An expansible plug for wells comprising a pluralityA of tapering staves alternately arranged in the form of'a circle having contacting side edges, and means for4 -moving said staves longitudinally in respect to eachother for increasing the diameter of the circle formed'by said staves.

9. A plug comprising a headedbase pin, tapering staves carried by said base pin, an cxpansible packing lcarried by top pin carried by two of said staves, and

said pin, a

means for attaching said top pin to the stem of a well drilling tool.

10. An expansible plug for Wells compris- .ing a base pin and a top pin having contacting side edges, staves carried by the base pin, and means for moving two of said staves longitudinally in respect to the other st-aves. y

11. A plug for oil wells comprising a base pin having a head, an expansible plastic packing arranged on said pin against said head, and a sectional body carried by said pin adapted to expand said packing.

12. A plug for oil wells comprising a base pin carrying a plastic packing, and a body ing said staves longitudinally in respect to each other.

15. A plug for wells Acomprising a base pin, a body formed of a plurality of tapering staves detachably carried by said pin, and a second pin connected to two of said staves for moving said staves longitudinally in respect to the other staves. l

16. An expansible wooden plugfor wells comprising a cylindrical body formed of a plurality of tapering staves having c ontacting side edges, one pair of staves being arranged in the plane above the other pair of staves, and means for moving said staves longitudinally in respect to each other for increasing the diameter, of the body formed by said staves. l

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature 

